Miss America 1923

Miss America 1923, was the third Miss America pageant, held at the Million Dollar Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Friday, September 7, 1923.^[1][2]

At the conclusion of the event, King Neptune crowned the incumbent titleholder Mary Katherine Campbell as Miss America 1923. Campbell is the only Miss America to win the title twice.^[3][4]

Contestants from 75 cities, states, and titles competed at the event. The event was presented by Hudson Maxim dressed as King Neptune.

Overview

Organization of pageant

The pageant consisted of four phases of competition: evening dress (called King Neptune's Court); roller chair parade, bathing girl revue, and the final.^[5] There was no talent competition at this pageant (this would not become part of the Miss America competition until 1935).^[6]

Judges

The panel of judges for the national pageant included film director, Penrhyn Stanlaws; painter, Joseph Cummings Chase; glamour artist, J. Knowles Hare; illustrator, Dean Cornwell; and painter and illustrator, Norman Rockwell.^[7]

Aftermath

Soon after the conclusion of the pageant, numerous women clubs and church groups protested against any further beauty contests and, "[urged] that they be prohibited by law," and, "[denounced them] as vulgar, undignified 'and demoralizing to young womanhood."^[8][9][10] One woman was quoted saying, " 'The beauty of our girls is too glorious, too sacred a thing to be put on exhibition like the freaks in a circus side show, to be commercialized and made the basis for all sorts of mercenary schemes.' "^[8]

Another protest arose when Ethelda Kenvin, Miss Brooklyn, was named the 1st runner-up at the conclusion of the contest despite being married since 1921 to professional baseball player Eppie Barnes.^[8] Some of her fellow contestants insisted that her placement and awards be revoked due to her marital status and violations of eligibility rules.^[8] The judges' panel were made aware of this but ultimately decided to allow Kenvin to keep her prizes.^[8]

Additionally, Helmar Liederman of New York filed suit against the contest directors, Armand T. Nichols and Harry L. Godshall, Sr., for $150,000 due to their refusal to allow her to enter the national competition as "Miss Alaska" because she was a married woman, despite being authorized to compete by a newspaper in Juneau, Alaska.^[8]

Results

Placements

Awards

Evening Dress Award

Award also referred to as "King Neptune's Court."^[5]

Roller Chair Parade

Contestants

City / State / Title	Name	Age	Notes
Akron	Thelma Boyd[17]
Alaska	Helmar Liederman[8][18]	24	Competed in Miss America 1922 pageant as Miss Alaska.[19] Disqualified from 1923 pageant because she was married.[8][18]
Albany	Peggy Ross[20]
Allentown	Helen Noble[21]
Altoona	Margaret Lillian Ross[20]
Asheville	Rose Hildebrand[20]
Atlanta, Georgia	Frances Thayer[20]
Baltimore	Billie Muller[20]
Binghamton	Bonita C. Bement[21]	19
Birmingham	Louise Newman[20]
Boston	Margaret L. Black[20]
Bridgeton	Sarah Delp[20]
Brighton Beach	Edithea Lois Wild[22]	15
Brooklyn	Ethelda Kenvin[20]	24	Married baseball player, E.D. Barnes, in 1921[8]
Buffalo	Irene Knight[20]
Burlington	Hazel Gove[20]
Cambridge	Doris Rowden George[23]
Camden	Florence Nurock[23]
Cape May	Mildred McCann[23]
Chicago	Corrine Dellefield[23]
Cincinnati	Olga Emrick[23]		Later worked as a stenographer and was active with the "Anti-Flirt Club"[24]
Cleveland	Mary Jane Clark[23]
Columbus	Genevieve Mambourg[23]
Coney Island	Heather Eulalie Walker[14]		Star of the lost musical film, Hit the Deck, opposite Jack Oakie[25]
Cumberland	Elizabeth Catherine Steele[26]	18
Detroit	Beth Madson[23]		Also competed in Miss America 1922 pageant as Miss Detroit[27]
Easton	Agnes Connelly[23]
Erie	Dorothy Haupt[23]		Also competed in Miss America 1922 pageant as Miss Easton[28]
Fort Worth	Bessie Laurene Roosa[29]
Hammonton	Alice Kind[23]
Harrisburg	Helen R. Knisely[30]
Jacksonville	Alyce Phillips[21]
Johnstown	Betty Grening[31]
Lakeland	Mary Weaver[32]
Lebanon	Grace Kohr[33]
Long Branch	Elene Hicks[6]	19	Died of breast cancer in 1940 at age 38[6]
Louisville	Juanita Hobbs[23]
Memphis	Elizabeth Mallory[34]
Miami	Katherine Kyle[35]		Also known as "Katherine Newlon"[35]
Miss America 1921	C. Margaret Gorman[36]	18	Competed as Miss America 1921[36]
Miss America 1922	Mary Katherine Campbell[23]	16[9]	Competed as Miss America 1922[23] Only woman to win the national pageant twice[11]
New Bedford	Mildred Salisbury[21]
New Haven	Helen Haddock[23]
New Jersey	Elizabeth McClure[37]
	Alberta Dorothy Smith[37]
	Elsie Banholzer[37]
New York City	Peggy Verna Shevlin[23]
Niagara Falls	Nelda Tell[23]
Norristown	Mildred Maconachy[38]
Ocean City	Grace Taylor[39]
Oklahoma City	Mary Deen Overly[40]
Pensacola	Katherine Floyd[41][42]
Philadelphia	Marion Green[43]
Portland	Winona Evelyn Drew[30]
Portland	Patricia Smith[23]
Pottsville	Isabel Lynch[21]
Providence	Loretta La Flamme[21]
Reading	Jane Ondeck[44]
Richmond	Billie Gates[45]
Rochester	Reta Cowles[46]
St. Louis	Charlotte Nash[16]	17	Married millionaire and theatre magnate, Fred Nixon-Nirdlinger, twice Nice, France[47][49] Was acquitted after successfully arguing act was in self-defense[50][51]
San Antonio	Katherine Helmsley[23]
San Francisco	Violet Regal[52]
Sunbury	Mary Botto[30]
Syracuse	Eileen Snyder[5]
Trenton	Alma D. DeCone[23]
Tulsa	Constance Crosby[53]
Vineland	Mary E. Edwards[23]
Washington, D.C.	Lorraine Bunch[23]
West Virginia	Neva Jackson[54]
Wildwoody	Eleanor Addis[23]
Wilmington	Ruth Agnes Brady[45]

References